Month: May 2021

• Regular hot baths could provide many of the same benefits as exercise, a study suggests.
• Researchers compared hot baths and saunas with moderate cycling, and found similar physiological responses.
• However, baths won’t lead to fat loss, muscle gain, or improved stamina.
• A hot bath could provide many of the same benefits as low-intensity aerobic exercise, researchers have found.

Regular baths have previously been linked to a lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, as Insider’s Samantha Crozier reported. A new mini-review by the University of Coventry suggests they provide further benefits of moderate exercise, too.

After a few minutes in a hot bath or sauna, you feel a pleasant relaxing sensation, then your heart rate rises and you feel hot and sweaty – similar sensations to those when walking, jogging, or cycling.

Researchers compared the physiological responses between spending equal amounts of time in a hot tub and moderate intensity cycling.

They assessed 50 studies, both epidemiological (which have large numbers of people, looking for patterns) and laboratory-based (which look at detailed physiology).

Study author Tom Cullen told Insider that all existing laboratory studies for heat therapy are small, and there were very few studies directly comparing exercise and use of hot tubs, baths, and saunas. “We are really quite early on in the phase of research with really only a proof of concept and no large scale clinical trials,” Cullen said.

However, he said there was enough for them to draw some conclusions.

They found that core body temperature and heart rate increases were comparable for both groups, and ultrasound scans of the arteries found similar improvements in blood flow, blood pressure, and glucose levels.

The cycling, however, did also lead to more energy expenditure (or, calorie-burning), while the bath did not.

Baths won’t help you lose fat or build muscle

Despite the study’s findings, baths don’t provide the countless benefits of exercise, and it’s worth noting that you may need to sit in a hot tub at around 40C (104F) for an hour to experience the results of the study, which could lead to dizziness and dehydration.

Hot bathing won’t help you change your body composition by building muscle and burning fat, it won’t boost your bone density, and it won’t lead to improvements in endurance, strength, or mobility.

“Using hot baths or saunas shouldn’t be considered as a substitute for exercise,” Cullen’s fellow study author Amy Harwood wrote for The Conversation. “But it can mimic some of the health benefits – and we think that when used in conjunction with exercise, it can give rise to greater health.”

Hot baths can be beneficial complements to a healthy exercise regime by reducing inflammation and helping muscles recover Harwood said.

Heat therapy has also been shown to offer some of the same antidepressant benefits as exercise, particularly if there is a social aspect such as in Finnish sauna culture.

Doing both regular exercise and frequent bathing is the best option, Harwood said.

Article by rhosie@insider.com (Rachel Hosie) for Insider©

Source: Hot baths are just as good for lowering your blood pressure as moderate exercise on a spin bike, study finds (msn.com)

© Provided by Eat This, Not That!

Cleanliness is next to godliness, or so the expression goes. But how diligent are we really about our self-maintenance? If we’re going by a report in The New York Times, countless Americans have thrown in the towel on bathing regularly over the course of the last year. Now, that probably doesn’t seem like a huge deal—and an argument could be made that showering a bit less may actually be better for your health—but it’s simply a fact that there are some parts of your body you really must clean every day, and specifically at the end of every day.

“Showering in the evening is better for your skin health for a number of reasons,” as cosmetic doctor Rekha Tailor, MD, recently explained Express. “In doing this, it removes the dirt from the air which includes germs, pollution and dust which can gather during the day, as well as sweat which accumulates. By showering at night, you are cleansing your skin of these before you go to sleep, thus enabling it to properly regenerate overnight.”

Got it? Excellent. Now read on for the parts of your body you should be scrubbing every day.

 1. Your Feet

According to Tom Biernacki, PDM, a podiatrist and board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, “foot odor and foot fungus can only survive if there is dead skin or sweaty skin on your feet.” Do you know how to get rid of those things? Give them a good wash!

Now, you’re doing this for reasons beyond simply not smelling. If left untended, foot and toenail fungus is likely to lead to athlete’s foot or infect your nails, which may require surgery to remove them if they get seriously infected.

Be sure to really scrub your feet and don’t just expose them to a little hot water.  “We may miss out the part between our toes and under the nails and fungus can form, resulting in fungal infections,” says Chris Airey, MD, the medical director at Optimale as well as a practicing physician with the NHS. “It’s also important to keep the heel and pads of the toes moisturized or painful cracks may form.”

 2. Behind Your Ears

Airey explains that not cleaning behind your ears regularly can result in “infections or seborrheic dermatitis, or even just a bad smell.” You’d think this would get noticed before it became a problem, but many people tend to neglect this out-of-sight area.

“Behind your ears you have skin folds in addition to a high amount of sebaceous glands,” explains Sandra El Hajj, MD, a naturopathic medical doctor specializing in preventive health. “These glands can collect sweat while secreting sebum. This accumulation may lead to the accumulation of bacteria that may create a cheese-like smell. All these secretions are normal; however, it is your responsibility to keep that area cleansed on a daily basis.”

3. Your Tongue

“Clean your tongue everyday when you brush,” urges William L. Balanoff, science consultant for Abova Health, executive clinical director of Orthodontic Care of Georgia and the CEO of Oral Care Perfected. “Everyone knows to brush and floss their teeth everyday but most patients never clean or scrape their tongue.”

Balanoff adds that your tongue is a source of bad breath and can also be a breeding ground for bacteria. A buildup of this bacteria can result in gingivitis, discoloration, or even duller taste buds. “Most toothbrushes have a tongue cleaner on the backside of the brush,” says Balanoff. “Use it regularly to avoid bad breath and promote a cleaner, healthier mouth.”

4. Under Your Arms

Like your feet, you can tell pretty quickly when your armpits are in need of a wash. But it’s also an area where the skin is sensitive and more prone to ingrown hairs and potential infection. Waqas Ahmad Buttar, MD, a family physician at Sachet Infusions, points out that armpits are among the areas of the body “where most of the pathogens attack due to increased sweating. There is also the growth of hair in the groin and armpits, which, when combined with sweating in hot, humid weather, may cause infections.”

While deodorant may help control issue around unwanted smells, to really ensure your body is healthy and free from damaging bacteria, it’s best to reach for the bar of soap. 

Article by Alex Daniel for EatThis,NotThat©

Does the DASH diet have hidden health effects?

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center examined three cardiovascular indicators to determine if — and how — diet directly impacts cardiac health. They analyzed blood samples from clinical-trial participants who stuck to strict dietary regimens and found that the DASH diet, already shown to lower blood pressure, also reduces inflammation.

The conclusion, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also found that the DASH diet — whether or not it’s adhered to in conjunction with a low-sodium diet — reduces heart injury and strain. The researchers analyzed stored specimens from 412 participants conducted at four medical centers in the U.S. between 1997 and 1999.

The DASH diet, short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, recommends fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, poultry, fish and low-fat dairy products, while restricting salt, red meat, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Among trial participants on the DASH diet, biomarkers linked to cardiac damage and inflammation fell by 18% and 13%, respectively. Participants combining the DASH diet with reduced-sodium behavior had the most pronounced reductions in both cardiac injury and stress — 20% and 23%, respectively — although inflammation was not significantly impacted.

“Our study represents some of the strongest evidence that diet directly impacts cardiac damage, and our findings show that dietary interventions can improve cardiovascular risk factors in a relatively short time period,” said Stephen Juraschek, an assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

“The data reinforce the importance of a lifestyle that includes a reduced-sodium, DASH diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains to minimize cardiac damage over time,” said Juraschek, a co-author on the study.

U.S. News and World Report named the DASH diet the No. 2 diet for 2021 in a tie with the Flexitarian diet, with the Mediterranean diet taking first place.

The Mediterranean diet focuses on olive oil rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean protein like fish and chicken, with the occasional piece of red meat. It also emphasizes beans, nuts, legumes, and flavorful herbs and spices, as well as cheese, yogurt and a glass of red wine in moderation.

Unlike the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and nuts while limiting saturated fats, total fat, cholesterol, red meat, sweets and sugar-containing beverages, Juraschek and his co-authors said. It was developed in the 1990s with the specific goal of lowering blood pressure, and has been shown to help lower the chances of stroke and diabetes.

Blood pressure is one of the best predictors of cardiovascular health, and cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of people in the U.S. Previous research also suggested that a lack of sleep may offer one possible explanation for why sleep problems have been shown to increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and even death from cardiovascular disease.

Article by Quentin Fottrell for Market Watch©

Source: A new study links this popular diet with lower blood pressure — and reduced cardiac injury and strain (msn.com)

© Provided by Best Life

Whether you’re cooking, eating, or serving, a lot of mess can go down in the kitchen. And when it’s time to sweep away crumbs or wipe up spills on your counter, you probably grab whatever is closest to clean up the mess without thinking twice. Unfortunately, that could be causing serious problems. In fact, experts say that there’s one common item you should never clean your kitchen counters with, as it may spread dangerous bacteria around the room. Read on to find out how you could be doing more harm than good when cleaning up your kitchen.

You should never clean your kitchen counters with used dish towels.

When it comes to cleaning your kitchen countertops, avoid reaching for your trusty dish towel to do so. According to Towel Supercenter, dish towels can easily be exposed to dangerous bacteria, so using them for different purposes—like cleaning your kitchen counters—can just spread that bacteria around. While reusable dish towels may seem convenient, you might want to go with a different option for your safety.

“In some scenarios, it may be safest to reach for a disposable paper towel,” the experts at Towel Supercenter explain on their website. “Tossing the paper towel after cleaning the mess helps decrease your chances of spreading bacteria, especially if you don’t throw your reusable towel into the kitchen wash right away.”

Spreading bacteria in the kitchen can give you food poisoning.

Researchers from the University of Mauritius released a study in 2018 describing the health dangers of dish towels. After culturing bacteria from 100 dish towels used for a month, they found that 49 percent of them collected bacterial growth such as E.coli, Enterococcus species, and Staphylococcus aureus. And towels used for more than one purpose—like wiping utensils and cleaning countertops—had a higher bacterial count than towels that were only used for one activity. “Those are bacteria that are concerns for foodborne illnesses,” Paul Dawson, PhD, a food scientist and professor in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences at Clemson University, explained to CNN.

Common symptoms of food poisoning include upset stomach, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever, and can be anywhere from mild to very serious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you experience bloody diarrhea, high fever, frequent vomiting, signs of dehydration, or diarrhea that lasts more than three days, you should see a doctor immediately, as food poisoning can result in long-term health problems or even death, per the CDC.

More than half of people admit to cleaning their countertops with dish towels.

A March 2021 Bounty survey of cleaning behaviors among 2,000 people in the U.S. found that 58 percent of respondents use dish towels to clean up messes or spills on their kitchen counters. And despite 18 percent of respondents saying they are aware that kitchen dish towels are one of the dirtiest items in the house, 41 percent still said they will reuse a dish towel more than five times before washing it.

“Used dishcloths can provide a flourishing environment for bacteria,” Jessica Rivera, MS, an infectious disease expert, said in statement accompanying the survey. “And what many do not realize is, when you wipe up a mess or dry your hands with a used, reusable cloth, you may be helping to spread bacteria.”

You should be changing and washing your dish towels frequently.

Only 11 percent of people in the U.S. say they replace or clean their kitchen hand towel more than once a week, according to the survey. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledges that kitchen dish cloths are “potential sources of bacteria,” which means they should be changed and washed more frequently than that.

Of course, how frequently each household should be washing their dish towels depends on a few different factors, per the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This includes how often they are used and what they’re used for in the kitchen. If your towel is used to clean up anything that can contribute to bacteria growth, like raw meat, poultry, or seafood juices, it should be washed and replaced with a new one immediately. The USDA recommends that you wash dish towels in the hot cycle of your washing machine.

Source: Never Clean Your Kitchen Counters with This, Experts Warn (msn.com)